May 27, 2012

Thanks for your kind words and encouragement this week. Starting a new job in a new (for me) industry has been pretty tiring for my poor old brain. In my last job I was "the person who knew everything" and now I'm "the person who knows nothing", but I'm sure it won't be long before I've got a handle on the role. :)

To help me chill out in the evenings I've been indulging in a little craft relaxation therapy and have been stitching random patterns on cream felt squares.

Each finished square is approximately 10cm x 10cm and when I started, I had no idea what I would do with them, but I'm aiming for 9 different blocks now and have 3 more to go and then I think I'll pop them in a frame.

It's been so relaxing to just focus on stitching the patterns. It's kind of like Zentangle drawing, except stitched! :)

May 18, 2012

I celebrated my last day of weekday freedom by hitting the shops this morning. I headed out on a mission to find the perfect shoe for work. I had in mind to track down a pair of black stacked heel court shoes, or mary janes that were comfortable enough for a long day at work.

Hmmm....somewhere along the way I got sidetracked by a pair of fur lined ankle boots.

They called out to me from the sale table at Betts and I couldn't resist trying them on. Cute, comfy (and fur lined - yay) what's not to love - right? I simply couldn't resist! I liked how they look with my outfit, so I put them on in the shop and have been wearing them all day since!

I also picked up some cute and lets face it, more practical, wedge heeled mary janes at Kmart.

Now I better hurry up and get to work, before I spend my first weeks pay before I get it! ;)

....

If you haven't already heard my new job starts on Monday and I'll be working as an admin assistant at a local Aged Care residence. It looks like such a lovely, friendly and happy place to work. I can't wait to get started.

May 16, 2012

Monday - cleaned my play room and had a little play while I was at it, giving my mist storage box a make-over.

Tuesday - lunch with Chelsea at CrackerJack cafe. This is the view from inside the cafe looking out over our local beach. Don't be deceived by the sunny sky, it's way too chilly to sit on the balcony. The cafe is in the new Carrum Bowls Club, the previous building was used as a location in the 2002 Australian film of the same name.

Wednesday - caught up with my sister Margie for her birthday. I made her a fabric bookmark (she's old school and likes to read real books – not ebooks). J

I'm actually really looking forward to my new job starting, but I'm trying to take the most advantage of these last few days of freedom, while I can.Who knows what I'll get up to for the rest of the week? :)

May 15, 2012

This sampler is the product of last nights (stitch) session in front of the telly, watching Gossip Girl (b*tch) - one of my guilty pleasures. :)

A scrap of calico, layered with gauze, decorated with some cotton trims, an offcut from a doiley and my first attempt at embroidered daisies (the gauze is very forgiving - haha). Finished item is 8cm x 14cm.

May 02, 2012

Do you ever feel that a project you just finished isn't quite right? It happened to me with this one.

Originally I painted the black shadow box frame a creamy pink colour, but it just didn't look quite right. It wasn't awful, but by then I'd lost my mojo, so I let it sit on the shelf for a couple of weeks to see if I would grow to like it. But I didn't. boo :|

Yesterday I finally got around to re-painting it. I gave it a coat of Jo Sonja's paint - Yellow Oxide. Once that was dry I added a light coat of Kaiser Craft - Beige paint. Finally, to get the well worn vintage look I was after, once the beige paint was dry, I used a damp cloth to rub it back. And now I love it! Yay!

I used lots of my collected bits and pieces to create the collage. Some Items I used pretty much as they came, while others needed a little embellishment (yeah that's right, I embellished the embellishments - haha).

Finally, I lined the inside walls of the frame with patterned paper and added loopy trim around the inside edge of the frame. It's such a pretty finishing touch, don't you think? :)